No-growth types find a rural mouthpiece

It is unfortunate that David Dunmeyer, in his role as a Queen Anne's County Commissioner, has chosen to be the shrill mouthpiece of the no-growth movement in Queen Anne's County ("Sprawl is the real enemy of rural living," Nov. 2). Perhaps Commissioner Dunmeyer is unaware that he lives in one of the developments he so richly decries as an enemy of rural living. Perhaps he is also unaware that, as a homebuilder himself, he is responsible, either directly or indirectly, for the development of open spaces in the state of Maryland. Given these two facts, it is both sad and puzzling to see him engage is such nonsensical demagoguery — he has established an insurmountable credibility gap for himself.

PlanMaryland is nothing more than a power grab with the state taking and consolidating decision making authority from local governments and making them subject to the political whims of a select few in Annapolis. It is incredibly disappointing, though not surprising, to see this local government official speak out so passionately in favor of reducing his own authority. What is also not surprising is how closely his letter mimics the rants of the ultra no-growth radicals in Queen Anne's County. If I didn't know any better, I'd swear the good commissioner had a ghost writer. It is also noteworthy that he failed to state his position in any of our county's local newspapers, opting instead to state his case to The Sun. Is Commissioner Dunmeyer afraid of directly addressing the people he represents? We will be affected by his desire to turn decision making authority over to the state.

We have county commissioners in Queen Anne's County for a reason — they give local residents an opportunity to elect officials who represent their interests on issues that affect their everyday lives. It is outrageous to see our local representative so willing to relinquish the authority that he was elected to exercise. Commissioner Dunmeyer's position represents NIMBYism at its worst. Now that he is enjoying his bucolic life, he wants to ensure that nobody else can.